Alternative Fuels

New Thomas Built hybrid to be shown at Arizona dealership

PHOENIX — School district officials throughout the state will have an opportunity to view and test drive Thomas Built Buses’ new Saf-T-Liner C2e hybrid school bus this week. It is scheduled to be on display at Auto Safety House (ASH) on Thursday.

The bus utilizes Eaton Corp.’s hybrid-electric drive system and was manufactured at Thomas Built Buses’ facility in High Point, N.C.

"We are excited about this new hybrid model school bus that we can now offer to school districts," said Jim LoPresti, president and CEO of ASH. "This enables us to assist in everyone's objective to improve and sustain our environment and reduce health issues related to diesel emissions."

Rudy Garcia, vice president of sales and marketing for ASH, said that the system has been tested in stop-and-go duty cycles for the past two years. The tests revealed a fuel savings of 300 to 450 gallons per year based on annual mileage of 10,000 miles.

Moreover, Garcia said that additional benefits include reduced brake wear and component maintenance and quieter operation.